Northstars split doubleheader to open season

Summer has finally arrived on the Hi-Line as the Havre Northstars American Legion baseball club got its season started with a doubleheader against the Billings Expos A team Sunday at Legion Field. The Northstars started the season on the wrong note with a 7-6 loss before they turned it around to win 14-4 to split the doubleheader.

"I think they did well to start off," Shane Reno said, who filled in for Havre head coach Patch Wirtzberger. "The first pitcher that pitched against us was pretty sharp so it revealed some things we need to work on. I think in the second game, they worked on those things and we got a lot sharper."

The Northstars looked like they would start the summer on the right foot as they took the lead in the bottom of the first. After three straight walks to load the bases, Trenton Maloughney grounded out to get a runner home for the 1-0 lead. Later in the inning, a Billings error allowed another Northstar to score and extend the lead. Kale Reno then scored on a dropped ball by the catcher to give Havre a 3-0 lead.

The Expos eventually took momentum in the top of the third. After the Expos loaded the bases, a Havre error allowed a pair of runners to score and cut the score to 3-2. Then a single and an error on the same play allowed another pair of Expos to score and take a 4-3 lead.

"The errors came in clumps," Shane Reno said. "They were effort errors. They were trying so they had the right idea in mind."

Billings held onto momentum with a strong top of the fourth. After a pair of singles to get runners on base, another single drove in a runner to push the lead to 5-3. A deep double then cleared the bases and extended their cushion to 7-3.

The Northstars tried to climb their way back into the game. In the bottom of the fifth, Jevin Jenkins hit a double to drive in a pair of runs and cut the deficit to 7-5. In the bottom of the seventh, Kale VanCampen scored on a fielder's choice to cut the score to 7-6. But a flyout ended the game and dropped the Northstars to 0-1 to start the season.

As a team, the Northstars only amassed five hits. Tarek Shipp led the team with two RBIs. Kale Reno started the game at pitcher where he went four innings and allowed six earned runs and three walks while striking out seven batters. Lane Kinsella pitched the last three innings where he struck out five batters and only walked two.

Early on in the second game, it looked like the Expos had carried their momentum from the first game. After Brody Nanini walked the first two batters of the game, a Havre error allowed a runner to score and give Billings a 1-0 lead.

But the Northstars responded in the bottom of the first to take control. After Drake Berreth led off with a single, two more batters were hit by pitch to load the bases. Theron Peterson was then walked to bring in a run and tie the game. A wild pitch allowed another runner to score to give Havre a 2-1 lead.

After another walk to load the bases, VanCampen put the ball in play which resulted in a Billings error. The error proved costly as all three runners scored to give Havre a 5-1 lead. Later in the inning, another runner stole home to push the lead to 6-1.

The Northstars kept up the momentum in the bottom of the second. After Eli Cloninger was walked to start the inning, Nanini hit an RBI double to push the lead to 7-1. Peterson then hit a triple to get Cloninger home to make it 8-1. After a slow start on offense in their first game, Shane Reno believes their approach was better in the second game.

"They just buckled down and focused a little bit more on their individual approaches to their bats," Reno said. "They had a little bit better eye for the ball and shook a little bit of the rust off from that first one."

The Expos tried to work their way back into the game in the top of the third. They were able to take advantage of several Havre mistakes such as hit batters, wild pitches and an error to score a pair of runs and cut the deficit to 8-3.

But the Northstars continued to score to keep the Expos at bay. After Kinsella was hit by a pitch to get on base, Cloninger hit an RBI single to push the lead to 9-3. Even after Billings scored in the top of the fifth to cut the lead to 9-4, the Northstars continued to score. In the bottom of the fifth, the Northstars took advantage of several errors and wild pitches to push the lead to 11-4.

In the bottom of the sixth, the Northstars looked to end the game early. After back-to-back Billings errors and a walk to load the bases, Ezra Pyle hit a single to bring in a run. Berreth then recorded a sacrifice fly to get another runner home to push the lead to 13-4. A wild pitch by the Billings pitcher allowed another runner to score to push the lead to 14-4 and end the game early.

VanCampen finished the second game with three RBIs and five different Northstars recorded a pair of hits. Nanini pitched five out of six innings in the second game where he allowed two earned runs and three walks while striking out four batters.

"I started off pretty rocky but I battled back and got better," Nanini said about his performance.

The Havre Northstars are now 1-1 to start the season. They still have a long season ahead of them, so they hope they can learn from these first two games and continue to build toward their goals this season.

"Everybody will take what they learned individually and work on it the next time out," Shane Reno said.

For now, the Northstars are happy to finally be back out on the diamond playing baseball.

"It feels great," Nanini said about returning to baseball. "It was a perfect day outside to play baseball."

The Northstars will next play Saturday at Legion Field in a doubleheader against the Billings Expos AA team starting at 3 p.m.

Billings 7, Havre 6

BIL 0 0 4 3 0 0 0 - 7 7 5

HAV 3 0 0 0 2 0 1 - 6 4 6

WP - Pwyatt

LP - Kale Reno

Havre batting - Drake Berreth 0-3, Eli Cloninger 1-3, Brody Nanini 1-3, Trenton Maloughney 0-3, Theron Peterson 1-3, Jevin Jenkins 1-3, Kale Reno 0-2, Lane Kinsella 0-2, Kale VanCampen 1-2, Tarek Shipp 0-3.

Havre 14, Billings 4

BIL 1 0 2 0 1 0 X - 4 7 1

HAV 6 2 1 0 2 3 - 14 13 1

WP - Brody Nanini

LP - Colton

Havre batting - Drake Berreth 1-5, Eli Cloninger 2-3, Brody Nanini 2-3, Trenton Maloughney 0-3, Theron Peterson1-3, Conner McKay 1-4, Kale Reno 2-3, Kale VanCampen 2-3, Lane Kinsella 2-2.